Roman Republic · 58-50 BC

Caesar in Gaul

In eight years Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, crossed the Rhine and landed in Britain, then wrote his own account of it all. Students follow his campaigns, meet Vercingetorix and question a source written by the winner.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 58 BC to 50 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In eight years Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, crossed the Rhine and landed in Britain, then wrote his own account of it all. Students follow his campaigns, meet Vercingetorix and question a source written by the winner.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Trace the main campaigns of Caesar's Gallic Wars on the map.
  • Describe the siege of Alesia and the role of Vercingetorix.
  • Evaluate Caesar's own book about the war as a historical source.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

58 BC

Gaul before Caesar

Open the map in 58 BC. Find the Roman province in the south of Gaul and the lands of the Celtic peoples to the north. How much of Gaul is Roman?

Open this view on the map
b

52 BC

Alesia

Turn on Historical Events, choose Sieges, and find Alesia (52 BC). Zoom in on the hill. Caesar built a ring of walls around it and a second ring facing outward. Why two?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Caesar wrote his "Commentaries on the Gallic War" about himself in the third person, as "Caesar". Why might he do that?
  2. Caesar wrote the only full account of the war. What might the Gauls have told differently?
  3. Ancient writers claimed that a million Gauls were killed and a million enslaved. Historians think these numbers may be exaggerated. Why is it hard to count the cost of an ancient war?
  4. Vercingetorix united many Gallic peoples against Rome. Why was unity so hard for the Gauls?
  5. The war made Caesar rich, famous and loved by his soldiers. How could that threaten the Senate in Rome?
4

Game round

10 min

Play the Julius Caesar round in Rule History together. Before the first decision, remind students that Caesar's army had just spent eight years in Gaul. Discuss: how did the Gallic Wars make his next choices possible?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.